Battle of Oberwesel

The battle of Oberwesel was a battle of World War II that took place on 20 March 1945 when the US 90th Infantry Division assaulted Wehrmacht positions along the Rhine River at Oberwesel, where they faced stiff opposition from Wehrmacht regulars, elite panzergrenadiers, and Volkssturm militia in addition to a group of German armor. The Americans would suffer heavy losses, being forced back several times, but the arrival of additional armored support allowed for the Americans to launch a counterattack and drive the Germans out of the town.

Background
Following the Battle of the Bulge in December 1944-January 1945, the United States and the other Allied Powers launched an invasion of Germany, breaking through the Siegfried Line and pushing up to the Rhine River. General George S. Patton's US Third Army was one of the spearheads of the Allied invasion, with the US 90th Infantry Division being among the units of his army. This unit pushed on Mainz in the Rhineland, and a detachment of the unit was dispatched to secure the town of Oberwesel, which was to be the site of a German counterattack. The Germans prepared whatever armor they could call up from Wiesbaden and sent it west to assist its infantry (Panzergrenadiers, regular Wehrmacht troops, and Volkssturm militia) in pushing the Americans back, while the Americans sent in their own infantry and armor.

Capture of the crossroads
The Americans advanced from the south and pushed forwards on three flanks; there was some farmland to the west, crossroads in the center, and some woods to the east. With the help of armor, the Americans managed to secure the crossroads in the center, where much of the fighting with the Germans took place. The Germans launched several fierce attacks on the crossroads, but the Americans were able to hold on to their positions despite heavy losses. On the right flank, US Army Rangers were deployed to hold a manor house from the Germans, and they made no attempt to advance further, holding their positions.

German counterattack
The battle seemed to be going well for the Americans at the start, but the arrival of German armor turned the tide of the battle. A kampfgruppe of Panzer IIIs and other German tanks assaulted the American positions, and the tanks plowed through the Allied ranks. One German tank was destroyed by an anti-tank soldier near the Oberwesel manor house, but the tanks pushed through on the other fronts, with an American M10 Wolverine tank destroyer being destroyed by a German medium tank. In addition, a truck carrying US 101st Airborne Division troops was blown up by the German tank, and only three paratroopers and one tank crewman survived, moving to cover behind a farmhouse and staying there until more reinforcements could arrive. Two American anti-tank guns were called in, and one set up on a hill to the left of the vertical road at the crossroads, while another set up on the road near the manor house. The one at the crossroads destroyed two German tanks, and the other gun destroyed one German tank, although it failed to destroy another one, instead damaging its tracks. The Germans succeeded in pushing the Americans out of the crossroads and their frontline positions, and one German squad attempted to secure the American left flank behind the farmland.

American counterattack
The Americans decided to marshal up a counterattack against the Germans, advancing on the crossroads from two sides. After some very heavy fighting and back-and-forth control of the area, the Americans ultimately succeeded in securing the roads. The Americans also relieved the left flank with some conscripted reinforcements, and the Americans on the right flank defended the hill from German panzergrenadiers. Eventually, the Americans called up armored cars to assist them in their counterattack, and German forces attempting to advance south in a ravine were massacred by reinforcements, as were would-be German ambush troops by an armored car. The Americans succeeded in pushing up the left flank with the assistance of the armored car, and the paratroopers on the right flank pushed back the Germans and fortified their positions. Other American forces assisted the main force in its advance, and the Americans succeeded in pushing the Germans back. The armored reinforcements of the Americans forced the Germans to abandon their positions, and the bloody battle ended. This allowed for the Americans to reach the Rhine, and the other 90th Infantry Division units attacked Mainz two days later.